I Never Second Guess Myself
by hiiSIERRA
Summary: He was eccentric, and smart; he ignored the rules of science. She was curious and kept to herself; she didn't obey his rules. Neither of them knew anything of remorse, until they break each other's trust.
1. Chapter 1

I Never Second Guess Myself  
Chapter One  
Empty Shelves

Sadie stood at her register in Willy Wonka's candy store. She smiled to herself, once again thinking of how lucky she was to get such a job at the best candy store of all time and so quickly too. She looked around at all the different and wonderfully tasty-looking candies, all unique, looking like none that she had seen before. And they had the taste to match.

As she continued to look around the store, she noticed movement at the base of her counter. With a glance downward, she saw a wisp of light blonde hair: a little girl. Sadie leaned over the counter to see her newest customer.

Indeed it was a little girl. She was looking up at her with big blue eyes, holding something that Sadie suspected was money, tightly in her fists.

"Hello there, hun!" Sadie said cheerfully, absently wondering how long the child had been waiting there without her noticing. The poor thing looked so nervous. Sadie smiled, trying to silently reassure her that she didn't bite. "What would you like today?"

"I-I, uhm," she little girl began with a stutter, eyes downcast. She gulped. "Can I have some of your chocolate birds? Please?"

"Birds?" Sadie repeated quizzically. She didn't remember anything about chocolate birds… "Okay..."

Sadie spun around, flipping her light brown pony tail over her shoulder. She tightened her red bandana, which held her hair up high, as she searched the shelves before her with her eyes. Just as she thought: no birds. She turned back to the girl. "Where exactly do you see, uh, those birds of yours?"

The girl clutched her quarter tighter in her fist and held it against her chest as she looked around. "Well… when I was here yesterday, an old man brought me some. I think he took it from the shelf up there," the girl pointed up high, above Sadie's head, "behind you."

Following the gesture, Sadie soon found the shelf she was pointing to and looked up at it incredulously. She turned back to the girl, careful to wipe the look of her face before she did so.

"You mean the empty one?"

The little girl nodded vigorously. "Yeah."

Sadie nodded, with a light frown, unnoticeable to the child. "No problem, kid," she replied, "Just hold on a sec." She turned away from the girl again and toward the depths of the candy store. "Mr. Bucket!" she called. "Oh, Mr. Bucket!" The young girl watched as a kind, older-looking man came into view and briskly walked over toward them. "Would you mind telling Mr. Wonka we are out of those, well, chocolate birds. He always seems to start inventing things and selling them before I even know about them. Thank you Mr. Bucket." The older man – Mr. Bucket – nodded and scurried off to the back room, disappearing behind the door he had come from.

The little girl looked up at the teenager behind the counter, timidly. She saw a white name tag against her red apron and read the name.

"Sadie?" the girl tried in a shy whisper.

Sadie directed her attention, once again, downward. "Yeah, kiddo?"

"H-how old are you?" she asked with a light blush.

"Seventeen," Sadie replied with a grin. "But I'm going to turn eighteen next month. Why do you ask? How old are you?"

The little girl responded with a sudden burst enthusiasm. "I wanna work here when I'm seventeen! But I'm only eight so I have to wait a while."

"Well, keep a good attitude about it then, stay confident, kiddo."

After barely a moment's pause, the girl began again with another question. "Have you ever seen Mr. Willy Wonka?"

Sadie opened her mouth to answer but paused half way in thought. No, actually, she had never seen Mr. Wonka himself though she worked in his candy store. She was hired by someone else, another higher-up worker of this store. Sadie pursed her lips about to answer when another, unfamiliar voice interrupted her before she had a chance to say anything.

"Well, little girl, no, I do not believe she has seen me, and _I_ don't think I've seen her, and I know that _you_haven't seen _me_, but there's a first for everything, now isn't there?"

Sadie turned her head abruptly to face the cheery sounding voice. There, right next to her, was Mr. Wonka, just as the other workers described him: tall, with dark brown straight hair down to about his chin, and a top hat to top it off. He looked so much younger than the old man she had suspected him to be. He couldn't have been older than twenty-five, maybe thirty, but that seemed to be a stretch.

She stared at Mr. Wonka, dumbfounded, as his mouth turned to a crooked grin. He handed a rectangular box to the girl. "Here, little girl, it was nice to meet you, yes it was, and I hope to see you again, I really do." Once the girl grasped the new box of chocolate birds in her hands, he pulled back, spun on his heel and headed back to where he had come from.

Sadie smiled down at the girl, frazzled by the odd happenings of just _seconds_ before. She took the girl's quarter and waved as she skipped out of the store, holding onto the box of chocolates like it was the dearest thing in the world to her. The moment the door swung shut, Sadie looked to the entrance of the back room, only to jump back in surprise to see that Mr. Wonka was not only still here, but once again, right next to her.

"Every time you see me you look surprised." Mr. Wonka said in a pondering way.

"Well, if you could make up your mind of where you're going then I wouldn't be surprised," Sadie snapped, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "And this is only the, what, second time I've seen you?"

"I never second guess myself," was Wonka's confident response before continuing. He looked down at Sadie's name tag, "Sadie, is it? What a cute name. I like it!" Wonka reached out a red gloved hand and Sadie took it weakly, in comparison to his firm grip.

Wonka laughed, and pulled his hand back, "I hope you'll enjoy your time working here Sadie. How long have you been with us?"

"I've only been here for a week," Sadie told him. She watched as an odd smile spread across his face, and he, again, turned on his heel without saying another word. This time she watched him disappear through the back door.

"Mr. Wonka, you're really weird," Sadie muttered under her breath, shaking her head before turning back to look at the next customer in line who happened to be holding a large lollipop, bigger than their head. They had been waiting patiently while Wonka and Sadie had their short-lived conversation.

Once she had taken care of the customer, Sadie looked at the clock behind her to distract herself from the odd first impression Mr. Wonka had left. It was only 3:30, and the shop closed at 6:30. She worked from three o'clock to closing every day, except for Sundays. With high school, she had to get as many hours in as she could without dying from working too hard or getting overwhelmed. Unfortunately, she might also have to work Sundays as well. She had said good-bye to her social life long ago.

With a long sigh, Sadie looked around and noticed a teenager, a few years younger than her, standing next to the exit. He ripped open a package of chocolate birds, popping a candy egg, then laughed, opening his mouth to reveal none other than a chocolate bird.

Sadie eyed the candy with envy, wringing her hands together under the counter. She loved Wonka's candies so much, but she was rarely able to have them for love of her teeth. Apparently, her teeth had an unfortunate problem with sugary treats, so she couldn't have as many as she would have wanted. Her teeth _had_to be perfect.

Her aunt was a dental hygienist, so out of the blue, she would command her to smile and check her teeth and point out any imperfection she saw and tell her how to fix it. The number one solution was to stop eating candy.

Sadie lived with her Aunt Linda and Uncle *insert uncle's name here* and her younger cousin. She had been sent to live with them since her parents, who lived in California, didn't have enough money to support themselves, let alone her. As said, she had gotten this job at the candy shop, hoping to make enough money to have a small place of her own by the time she got out of high school.

"Sadie! Sadie? _Hello??_" the sound of her name being called repeatedly pulled her from her thoughts. She had been day dreaming of the future for well over five minutes and all the shop activity had died down quite a bit. It was a slow day, for normally, the later the day, the more people there were.

Sadie turned her head to see another worker with bright blonde hair tied back in a bun peering out at her from the back room door. "You have a call," she said and withdrew, her deed done.

The brunette teenager slowly walked to the door. She had never been in the back room before. As she went, she felt as if all eyes were on her, though there was hardly anyone in the store.

"Who would be calling me here?" thought aloud as she pushed past the door. "I mean, I only live down the street, why can't-" Sadie stopped and was instantly hit by a strong aroma of mint. She almost melted; *spearmint* was by far her favorite flavor, and scent. A black corded phone was shoved into her face, preventing her from basking further in her delight.

"H-hello, Sadie Todd here… How may I help you?" Sadie turned around slightly to find the woman with the bun gone, and instead her gaze found Mr. Wonka's. Funny, she hadn't noticed him when she was walking into the room. He was standing before a complex looking candy machine, but he turned to face her, a strange expression taking over his features as he slowly made his way over to her.

"_Sadie. Remember your goal. Remember your reward,_" a sinister sounding voice came from the other end of the line.

Sadie realized she must have let a shocked look come to her face, for Wonka walked toward her faster. She began to panic, remembering the deal she made and how she now regretted it. But before she could say anything else, Wonka was within range and began to reach for the phone. Sadie slammed the phone down onto the receiver, then tried to look as casual as she could.

It didn't fool Wonka.

"And just who might that have been?" Wonka asked, suspicion creeping into his tone as he stared intently at the phone, then to Sadie. Sadie loved her job too much to want to even think about jeopardizing it or her future.

"No one, sir," she replied. "I believe that my personal life is of none of yourconcern."

"I should believe that because…? It must have been pretty important for them to call you her, whoever it might have been. _And_ it is my telephone, in my shop, so really, it's as much my business as it is yours."

"Well… the call was for me, so it _isn't_so much your business, but if you must know," Sadie paused quickly, looking for an excuse, "it was just my aunt. She was reminding me she wouldn't be home tonight," she lied.

Mr. Wonka looked her over once more, not looking quite convinced. He backed up slowly. "Just remember that contract you signed."

Sadie nodded curtly and turned around, feeling some of the workers giving her weird looks. She now wished that she had hung up the phone the moment she answered it. But, oh, did she remember that contract clear as the sun shining on a cloudless day. When she reached the door she glanced back. Wonka was standing where she had left him, staring off into space, a worried look across his face. She couldn't help but feel guilty for agreeing to give away someone's secrets, when they had done nothing to earn such betrayal.

All for something as petty and common as money.

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Chapter Two coming soon!  
I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.  
I'd like to give a big thanks to my Beta! Without her I'd be nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

I finally was able to upload Chapter Two! Thank you for all who review, and are following the story!

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I Never Second Guess Myself  
Chapter Two  
Bending the Rules

_It's almost 6:30. I have no idea how Mr. Wonka makes his candy, because I've never been in the back room, so since I do not know how he makes said candy, I won't have to give that selfish man what he wants, and then, that means I'm not guilty of any kind of betrayal toward Mr. Wonka. And having a guiltless conscious is always a-_

Sadie rambled on mentally as the last of the customers in Wonka's candy shop began to quickly file out, as it was getting dark very fast. As the last customer left in the shop left and the door closed, leaving the bell to tinkle quaintly, Sadie slowly moved away from her post and to the door. She then flipped over the open/closed sign so that it read 'closed' to the outside world while it said the opposite to those still inside, well the few that were left.

Sadie sighed, pausing with her hand on the sign, deep in thought, when a hand suddenly came down on her shoulder, making her jump up against it slightly in surprise and fear. She calmed when she realized that the hand was gentle and withered, and not stiff and accusing. Slowly she turned.

"Oh, Mr. Bucket! You startled me!" she gasped, making a show of putting her hand to her racing heart.

The elder man smiled at her sympathetically. "Anything wrong?" he asked. "You seemed a little down."

"Oh, no, I was just thinking about what I was going to do after I leave," Sadie replied, thinking of the little lies she'd spouted hours ago. It shamed her, and she felt her face drop even more.

But Mr. Bucket didn't seem to notice and was satisfied with her quick answer, for he left it at that. "Okay, kiddo, see you tomorrow," he said cheerfully, giving her a quick, parental-like pat on the shoulder. Mr. Bucket walked past her, a little shaky in his old age, and pushed his way out of the shop. Sadie watched him for a moment as he was greeted by his wife a little ways from the shop and they strolled down the sidewalk, hand in hand. They seemed happy together, like the old couples you'd read about in happy, romantic, life story books.

Another voice startled her into attention after Mr. Bucket and his wife disappeared into the darkness down the street.

"Uh, kid! A word?" the voice came from the back of the shop. Sadie looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, there was Mr. Wonka himself, calling her over by motioning for her to come forward with a red gloved hand.

Hesitantly, Sadie walked forward, suspicion in her thoughts so greatly that she wasn't even bothered by the fact that he seemed to have forgotten her name. No doubt Mr. Wonka had come to the conclusion that there was something fishy going on about her and was going to drill her for information. He'd drain her dry of every last bit of intelligence and then dump her in the river, where the ice would close over her and no one would find her until the spring. However impractical, these thoughts fueled her fearful imagination and all sorts of images of her being tied to a chair in a dark room with a too-bright light shining in her face flew across her head. Wonka's laughing, _mocking_ grin glared down at her, his eyes prying into her brain, taking every bit of information she was reluctant to give up – the information she refused to give up. Maybe he'd send her to jail for being a sneaky little spy, though not a very good one if he'd caught her so quickly.

Some sensible part of her mind stopped the flood of thoughts. At the very least, he was going to fire her. But once she got closer, and looked up at him, she noticed that Mr. Wonka was smiling. He was smiling a genuine happy, kind smile, not the terror-bringing, crazed one she had almost expected him to have.

"Would you mind helping me back here? I need to make some ice cream for tomorrow." That was all he said. No threats, just a simple question for help. She calmed with a breath.

None-the-less, Sadie gave him a confused look. It was supposed to snow tomorrow… Why would anyone in the world want ice cream on a snow day when they could just bend down and eat a pile of snow?

"Why would you sell-" Sadie started, but Wonka quickly hushed her.

"All in good time, all in good time," was all he said.

Sadie shook her head and glanced up at Wonka's mischievously smiling face. "Well, Mr. Wonka, you really don't make any sense," she paused and then added, "at all." But none-the-less, she smiled, and took the time to look around the room. She found herself staring at these large, odd lollipops, that honestly looked more like stained glass windows than tasty treats. Mr. Wonka seemed to notice her gaze and walked over to them and pointed.

"I know what you're thinking," he said knowingly. "'These looking like windows, not candy.'"

"Yeah, well, unless you tell me what they are, that's what I'm going to keep on thinking."

Mr. Wonka smiled and took a step toward her. "Candy can be whatever you want it to be. That's why I enjoy it so much."

"I'm so sure you do, Mr. Wonka… now can I go, or did you still want to show me something?"

"Ahh," Wonka said and held up a finger, "I actually want to show you something, or do you have to go home to your aunt?"

Sadie paused, remembering what she had said earlier as a cover up for her phone call, and then shook her head. "She isn't home yet, remember?" she said, referring to her phone call earlier. Wonka nodded then gestured for her to come to the back with him. She followed after him.

"What do you need help with again?" Sadie asked as she eyed the candy canes she was walking by. She pushed the colorful drapes that led into the room where the candy was made.

Wonka was silent for a moment or two. "I actually don't need help now that I-" Wonka paused again. "Well, I might-" He cut himself off again as Sadie looked on in amusement.

"You just said you never second guess yourself, and now look what we have here."

"I'm not! Deciding what I want you to do isn't the same thing," he said with the beginnings of an argument in his voice. Sadie went to argue back, but stopped when she figured there was no point If this grown man wanted to act like a child, she would be the better person. Thus, she watched in silence as Wonka pressed the blue button on a large white machine and then pulled a silver lever, which poured a small amount of ice cream into a little bowl. Wonka continued on as he turned back to face her, "I just need you to taste this, to see if-"

"No," Sadie said sharply, curtly.

"Excuse me?" Wonka asked, a little taken aback at her tone. He set down the bowl of chocolate ice cream and gave her a puzzled expression. No one ever denied an offer to try his candy, especially when it was free.

"I'm sorry Mr. Wonka, but I said 'no,' I don't eat candy, or sweets, or ice cream, or anything like that." Sadie blushed. Of all people he had to choose to test his products, it had to be her. She just wasn't the right person for this. Sadie took her bandana from her hair and twisted it around her hands. "If it's any consolation, I think I'll be-"

"Why are you working here then if you-"

"Because I love candy, even if I can't eat it – won't eat it. I love my teeth, believe it or not, and unless you can make a bunch of candy that won't provoke dental issues and are still as good as the original, then I'd be glad to come back and try them out. But as for-"

"But that's no excuse to-"

"_Stop_ interrupting me, it's-"

"_But_," Wonka cut in, this time halting her words effectively, "that's no excuse to not try something once and a while. I'm sure some toothpaste and tooth brush will be able to fix whatever damage you think the candy will bring. I mean, look at me, I love candy too, and my teeth are perfect." Wonka flashed her a bright, perfect smile for effect.

"While that it true Mr. Wonka," she paused briefly, eyeing his teeth, wishing hers were just as perfect, "if I even so much as taste it, well, it's really easy for me to get addicted, so I'd rather not risk it…" Sadie sighed, beginning to feel somewhat sorry for herself and the situation she was in. She really didn't like to have such an attitude toward Mr. Wonka, but it would help if he didn't act as if the world revolved around him.

"Well then, what candy, or flavor, can't you resist?" Wonka asked out of the blue, sounding only mildly curious, though Sadie suspected he had an underlying agenda.

"Well, I suppose the flavor would have to be mint; ironically, I love it."

"Ironically," Wonka mumbled under his breath, and then fell silent for some time. Then slowly, in a dreamlike way, he reached for the ice cream, but pulled his hand away at last moment. "I'll if it's just as cold in the morning," he said almost to himself, but then looked up at her. "Meanwhile, I shall begin on what you suggested, uhm, err, Sadie!" He exclaimed her name like it was a prize.

After giving him a queer look, Sadie said, puzzled, "You mean the sugar free candy?" then she jumped topics, "B-but why are you just going to leave your ice cream out like this? It's obviously going to turn into a chocolate puddle before-"

"We ignore the rules of nature here, Sadie. I do it all the time, and you'll learn to too in due time. Why let something so insignificant limit you?" Wonka smiled brightly as Sadie stared, baffled, and then started off to the door to exit the invention room. "By the way," he turned his head back halfway, "why is it that you wear a bandana instead of the other hats all the other workers wear?"

Sadie grimaced. "I can't stand them," she revealed bluntly.

"Fair enough. See you tomorrow afternoon."

He walked away. Once he was gone Said murmured to herself, "If you ignore the rules of nature, then I don't see the harm in ignoring just a few of your _rules._"


End file.
